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This paper describes a state‐of‐the‐art, commercially available optical correlator that has been used to perform industrial applications. The optical correlator can be used in many different applications including quality control, defect detection, target tracking and pattern recognition. The correlator has been designed to be rugged and is compatible with VGA and NTSC standards. The plug‐and‐play configuration makes it easy for engineers to test new industrial applications.

This paper presents the results of a survey of 187 male consumers in Morocco. In this study, country‐of‐origin information was manipulated along three dimensions: country of design, country of assembly and country of materials origin. Consumer judgments of the quality and purchase value of automobiles, televisions and shoes were obtained in a multi‐cue context. The results show that Moroccan consumers make a distinction between the different dimensions of country‐of‐origin information and that their perceptions are significantly affected by each dimension. However, the pattern of effects varies across dependent variables and products. Differences in the evaluations of countries are greatly attenuated when country‐of‐origin information is presented along with other informational cues such as price and brand name.

This chapter contributes to the ongoing debate about how digitalisation affects the internationalisation of small- and medium-sized firms (SMEs). By applying the Uppsala Internationalisation Process model, this chapter examines the impact of e-commerce on the internationalisation of SMEs. The study uses a unique dataset, which includes 14,513 SMEs across several sectors in 34 countries. The results show that firms using the Internet as a means to provide information about the firm exhibit a higher degree of internationalisation, while using the Internet to facilitate transactions was found to have a positive impact on the ratio of foreign sales to the total sales; however, these foreign sales are likely to be concentrated in less regions/markets. Furthermore, perceived export barriers were found to be a significant moderator of the effects of e-commerce usage on international intensity and international diversification. This suggests that e-commerce does not automatically facilitate the internationalisation of SMEs.

Before it was fully nationalized in 1945, the Banque de France was a listed company that distributed dividends to its shareholders and was listed on the Paris stock exchange. By comparing with other stocks and indexes, I show that, in spite of large earnings, Banque de France’s stock was a lackluster but popular investment. By examining the distribution of profits between the state and ordinary shareholders, I show that the state began to exert an influence over the Bank well before its nationalization, in the nineteenth century, amounting to a stealthy takeover. I then go on to analyze the Bank’s formal governance framework and the power of its regents (directors). Using a novel method to compute the shareholders’ statistical distribution, I conclude that small new shareholders who were less sophisticated bought predominantly shares from old larger shareholders. Eventually, most of the shareholders were “petit-bourgeois” passive rentiers who accepted the mediocre performance and kept reelecting the regents. I conclude by saying that the power of the 200 largest shareholders (“200 families”) was a political myth with little foundation in reality.

The purpose of this paper is to understand to what extent, the process of acculturation and the strategies which ensue from it can affect the self-declared health as regards the lifestyle, the physical activity, the diet and the well-being of first-generation immigrants living in the Montreal region (Quebec, Canada).

A supervised survey was administered to adult allophones immigrants attending French-language courses, autumn 2011 (506 valid surveys). The authors discuss the concept and the validation of their acculturation model and its relevance in regard of the purposes of the research.

The indicator allowed to clearly identify three groups that differentiate on numerous variables of the survey. Independently of the acculturations strategies adopted by the respondents, the authors observe a deterioration of the self-declared overall state of health, development of sedentary living, a fairly high level of stress and depressive episode within the entire sample. However, the group isolated as “retention” has consistently the lowest scores on all these variables. In terms of public health and health social inequalities issues these results are worrisome. The “assimilation” group have the highest scores and the “integration” group consistently shows and intermediate “balancing” position.

The authors claim that the strategies of acculturation are not always the expression of a free will. They are also the product of constraints specific to the host society and are just as much the result of the pre-migratory socialization. This is especially the case of the “retention” group and more specifically of women. The negative effects of social, cultural and economic constraints of the host society on overall health, well-being and lifestyle as well as adaptation strategies should be monitored in a more systematic manner in recent immigrant populations and be specifically addressed in immigrant integration policies and programmes.

Investigates what is happening in North America with regard to labour relations law. Examines, first, collective labour relations and labour law and, second, focuses on the legal regulation of the individual relationship, also known as employment law. Goes on to cover these two separate, but intertwined, entities in depth and as they are interpreted in both Canada and the USA. Concludes that labour law is changing and moving toward contractualization and proceduralization. Wonders whether labour law will be able to continue to play the role of protecting wage earners for which it was originally developed.

The aim of this paper is to investigate the relationship between consumer self‐confidence, product expertise, and travel experience in the context of travel information search during vacation planning.

The research design is based on a panel study to monitor trip planning processes of Austrian travelers. A structural model is used to assess to what degree consumer self‐confidence, product expertise, and travel experience affect travel information search and to examine the influence of consumer self‐confidence on product expertise.

Findings from the study show that consumer self‐confidence significantly affects product expertise. Travel experience, on the other hand, positively influences product expertise that again is positively related to travel information search. No significant relationship is established between travel experience and travel information search.

While most of the previous studies investigated information search using cross‐sectional data, this study addresses the need for more accurate research on information search adopting a panel design. One major limitation of the study is the small sample size. Results from a larger sample might be different in regards to the magnitude of the relationships.

This study contributes to the overall understanding of how knowledge and ability‐related factors impact travel information sourcing. The tourism literature reveals no other study that has simultaneously quantified consumer self‐confidence and product expertise during trip planning.

The purpose of this paper is to examine factors that explain cross-national differences in country-of-origin consumer perceptions.

This is a study using a drop-off and pick-up survey among male responders. The final sample size comprised 202 consumers in Canada and 153 in Taiwan. The data were analyzed using t tests and Spearman non-parametric correlations.

The results indicate that product complexity and manufacturing process moderate country-of-origin perceptions. In addition, differences in product-country familiarity, travel distance and national consumer characteristics like ethnocentrism, patriotism, animosity and cultural/linguistic affinity are significantly associated with cross-national differences in country-of-origin perceptions. Cultural distance was not related to cross-national differences.

Because this study was based on consumer perceptions of a limited number of countries, carried out in only two country locations using a product-based-only evaluation of country of origin, firm conclusions cannot be drawn. Additional studies should be conducted with a larger number of stimulus countries and include macro, attitudinal evaluations of country of origin.

The results show that manufacturing process and product technological complexity factors may be used globally in promotion and location decisions. It seems important to increase consumers’ familiarity with a country of origin and its products to improve its overall perception.

This study contributes to the marketing and international business literature and provides insights to international marketers at understanding the reasons why countries may hold different perceptions of a country of origin.

The purpose of this paper is to facilitate and clarify the perceptions of Spanish consumers towards China, its people, and its products, while outlining the overall contemporary Chinese product-country image (PCI) within the Spanish market.

A 52-item construct was adapted from former PCI scales from cross-cultural equivalence, including “country image”, “personal image”, “product image”, “general knowledge about China”, and “personal data”. Overall, 215 valid structured questionnaires were gathered.

The current study provides: a PCI literature review; hypotheses results concerning Spanish citizens’ views of Chinese products’ price, quality, technicality, inventiveness, and known brands concepts; descriptive statistics and results graphs for each of the PCI sections; and correlations of other variables with the five product image variables within the construct.

Implementing standardized, longitudinal consumer studies that facilitate better comprehension of PCI evolution within a specific market emerged as a future research agenda.

The data informed both the Chinese public and private organizations’ managers of the importance of adapting to the market and non-market environments within Spain to avoid the liability of country of origin effect.